


Cheese Sandwiches in a Church

by tyrianTyrant



Series: Tyrian's FFVII Fics [2]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Mentioned Zack Fair, no beta we die like zack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:27:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28380009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tyrianTyrant/pseuds/tyrianTyrant
Summary: A mysterious intruder comes into Aerith's churchorAerith and Kunsel meet
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough & Kunsel, Zack Fair/Aerith Gainsborough, Zack Fair/Kunsel (one-sided)
Series: Tyrian's FFVII Fics [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2078064
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	Cheese Sandwiches in a Church

**Author's Note:**

> So, this was originally going to be part of Apricity and then I changed the ending, and thought... Hey, this works just as well as a standalone fic.  
> So yeah. Have my 3 AM ramblings, inspired off of four of Kunsel's emails to Zack.

He’d came in the middle of winter.

It had been years since Zack had left for his mission.

Two years and four months, next week, actually. She’d sent her 50th letter earlier that day, through the new girl assigned to watch her.

(Her name was Elena, she was from Mideel, and she was allergic to flower pollen, which… Aerith thought _probably_ wasn’t the best trait for someone assigned to watch a _flower girl_.)

The flowers didn’t grow in the middle of winter, the freezing runoff turning the bed into a patch of icy mud that everyone stayed away from. Best case scenario, they came away with a few bootfuls of muck plastered on their lower half, and in the worst case, a bruised backside from slipping.

No, in the wintertime, most people stayed away from the church, chilly and leaky as it was.

Aerith wasn’t most people.

The flowers didn’t grow in the middle of winter, but the church was still a respite from her life, a place that even the Turks wouldn’t follow her into.

The flowers didn’t grow in the middle of winter, but the church was still here.

Aerith settled into a half-accustomed stance, eyes trained on the intruder, the sun reflecting off of his metal helmet and glinting in her eyes. A metal rod rested in her grip.

( _“It’s important for you to learn to protect yourself.” Zack had told her, once, years ago._

_It was summertime, and hot. Aerith couldn’t imagine that training in the church with pieces of wood and metal was more comfortable or helpful than an air-conditioned simulation room with whatever the newest weapons Shinra was rolling out this year._

_And yet, Zack was here, shirtless and sweaty, chugging the water she’d handed to him as he sprawled out on the pew next to her. His unruly hair stuck to his neck as he panted, dog tags stuck to his chest._

_“Earth to Aerith?”_

_Aerith blinked and blushed, realising that a certain pair of mako blue-green eyes had been watching her check him out, and had also been waiting for an answer._

_“Uh,” She stammered, trying to remember what he had been saying before she had zoned out. “Could you say that again?”_

_Zack grinned, moving so his head was on her lap. “I would’ve thought you’d got your fill staring at me for the past hour.”_

_“You are beautiful, and I am most definitely not sorry.” Aerith retorted, playfully pushing at his head. “But you’re also super sweaty and getting it all over my dress, so get off!”_

_“Fine, fine.” Zack hummed softly, moving back down. “But I was being serious earlier. It’s important for you to learn to protect yourself.”_

_Ah._

_Aerith felt a lump growing in her throat._

_“Hey,” She tried to sound cheerful. “I won’t need to, as long as you’re here, right?”_

_Zack looked away. “I won’t always be here, Aerith.”_

_“Then the Turks. They’ll protect me.”_

_Zack said nothing._

_“… What’s sparking this right now, anyways?”_

_“I don’t know. I just… Worry, I guess.”)_

When the banging had started, Aerith had been practicing with her makeshift staff and the wooden dummy Zack had made for her. The Angeal copy that’d taken to hanging out in the rafters in the ceiling had left, for some reason or another.

(It tended to do that, now and then, and strangely, it’d coincide with whenever Aerith felt Zack especially close to entering the Lifestream.)

She knew some basic self-defense, one didn’t get far in the slums without learning at least that much, but she’d never learned how to wield a weapon. It… Made her a little uncomfortable, if she was being honest with herself, but he’d been right.

The more involved she was with Shinra business, even peripherally, the more she’d need any sort of fighting training she could get. And seeing as her missing-not-killed-in-action boyfriend was an ex-SOLDIER…

Well. If Shinra came knocking on her door, at least she could do him proud by getting away mostly unscathed.

Zack had taught her the basics with a staff ( _“It’s got a longer reach than a sword, and it’s less fatal than a gun”_ ), how to block and jab ( _“Lead with your core, it’ll give you more power”_ ), and most importantly, when to fight.

( _“If something happens to me, and they think I’m with you, they won’t let you get away. Not without a fight. I know you hate it, but… Promise me. Give them hell.”_ )

_I promise_ , Aerith thought as the doors creaked open and a single silver helmet slip through, purple uniform distinguishing him from a common infantryman, or any other rank in Shinra’s military.

Not a Turk either. A SOLDIER, 2nd Class.

They weren’t here for her. They were here for Zack.

“He’s not here.” She kept her voice steady, tone even.

The SOLDIER didn’t respond. He didn’t even make a motion to move.

He just… Stood there.

_Why would they send just one SOLDIER 2 nd Class after a SOLDIER 1st Class?_

“Are there any others with you?”

Still no response.

Shuddering gasps filled the church, bouncing off the walls, and for a second, Aerith thought that the Angeal copy had come back without her noticing, or that a child had managed to hide away somewhere before she’d come to the church.

It took a few seconds for her to realise the sound was coming from the SOLDIER.

He was coming closer now, staggering, hands clutching his helmet as if to make sure no one could take it off of him, and _oh, he was unarmed, wasn’t he?_ Not a sword or gun or any sort of weapon on him.

If Aerith had been a warrior, she would have stood her ground, or even doubled it. A crying, unarmed SOLDIER 2nd Class? She had no way of knowing that he was alone. Even an unarmed SOLDIER could capture or kill her.

But she was never a warrior.

Aerith was the girl who wanted to sell flowers not to make herself rich, but to make Midgar a brighter place.

Aerith was the girl who caught children turning to crime, not to punish them, but to tell them that they didn’t have to do this, that all they had to do was come to her if they needed something, whether it be food or water or medicine.

Aerith was the girl who, when she had been beaten and bruised and had hit her limit, healed those around her, rather than lashing out herself.

Aerith was a healer.

So when the SOLDIER fell to his knees, a few feet short of her, between the fourth and fifth rows of pews, Aerith dropped her staff with a raucous clank to run to his side.

The SOLDIER still held his helmet to his head with both hands, but heavy tears fell down his cheeks, painting the stone beneath him as he grimaced, panicky breaths escaping his gritted teeth.

“Hey.” Aerith knelt before him, keeping her hands where he could see them. “Are you… Okay?” Obvious question, but hopefully it’d provide some sort of anchor for him.

He shook his head.

“Alright, is there anything I can do to help?”

A shrug, or an errant twitch. Aerith couldn’t tell.

“Can I touch you?”

A nod.

Aerith reached out, putting a hand on the exposed skin under his pauldron. He shuddered at the contact, but leaned into it, beginning to hyperventilate.

“Hey. _Hey_. You have to breathe. Can you breathe with me?”

Through gasps, he nodded, trying his best to match his shaky gulps with Aerith’s controlled ones.

“Good, that’s good­-”

“I loved him.”

Aerith’s heart twinged, her eyes drawing to the ground. “Zack?”

The SOLDIER seemed to crumple, his breathing beginning to pick up. “ _God_ , I _loved_ him.”

“Hey, you have to breathe. Come on…” Aerith fumbled, realising she didn’t exactly have a _name_ to attach to him, and calling him SOLDIER probably wasn’t the best move.

“Kunsel. I’m K-” His voice seemed to skip, the gasping forcing him to drop syllables.

“Okay, Kunsel. My name’s Aerith.” _Oh,_ Kunsel _? Zack’s friend,_ that _Kunsel?_ “Breathe with me.”

“Aren’t-”

Aerith shushed him softly, rubbing soft circles into his arm. “You’re only going to panic harder if you don’t breathe.”

Kunsel closed his mouth and nodded, following Aerith’s slow breaths as the tension began to drain out of his body, leaving a drooping, tired man in its place.

They both fell silent, the church empty except for their breathing, until Kunsel spoke up, clear for the first time since he entered.

“Aren’t you mad at me?”

“Loving someone’s not a crime. Why would I be?”

“… I don’t know.”

Another long pause.

“Do you want to get up? The floor gets cold in the wintertime, and I’ve got some water, and a sandwich. We can sit on the pews, the flower patch’s a bit of an eyesore, but the stained glass looks nice.”

“I can’t take your food…” Kunsel moved to stand up, walking over to the first pew and sitting down.

Aerith clucked her tongue. “I keep it around for the Sector 5 kids that come around here. They don’t come here much in the winter, it’s a bit too cold for that, but I still make an extra, in case someone drops in.” She waved one at him. “It’s a cheese sandwich today.”

Kunsel took it and began eating, nodding his approval. Aerith smiled, handing him a water bottle as she sat down with her own. “Good, right? I wish I could get a cow, I feel like fresh cheese would taste _really_ good, but I don’t think I could raise one in the slums.”

“They smell a lot.” Kunsel wrinkled his nose. “My family owned one.”

“Really? Where’re you from?”

“You know where Kalm is?” At Aerith’s headshake, he shrugged. “I’m from a small farm around there. I send part of my paycheck to my folks. They were… Proud that I became a SOLDIER.” He stared at his hands.

“I’m sensing some unresolved issues there?” Aerith took another bite of her sandwich. Good thing she’d handed Kunsel the fresher one, the bread was starting to go stale on this one.

Kunsel let out a humourless laugh. “I’m not even sure if I want to be in SOLDIER anymore. But they sacrificed so much to buy my gear and transport here. But…” He paused, before turning to look at Aerith. “You know what I mean, right? You know Zack’s still alive. They’re hiding him. I know they are.” A tinge of desperation had entered his voice, and Aerith’s heart dropped to her stomach.

She knew Zack was still alive. She remembered what it’d felt like to search for her mother’s husband’s spirit, to mark it, to feel it reentering the Lifestream and know that he was gone. Zack was still there, but barely. A candle’s flicker, compared to his usual inferno, but a flicker nonetheless.

But there was no way she could explain that to Kunsel, unstable as he was. If Zack's fire went out...

“I don’t know.” Was all she could manage.

Kunsel’s gaze dropped away from her as he clasped his hands. “Sorry, I forgot, you and him…”

“If it helps, I know what you feel like. And I know Zack has before too.” Aerith let a small smile crawl across her face as she looked towards the stained glass windows. “It was a few years ago, a materia trader’s daughter. Turned out she had a boyfriend though. I found out about him the night I was going to confess to her too.”

“And Zack?”

“Had a really embarrassing crush on a SOLDIER 1st Class at one point, according to him. He once missed a door and walked straight into a wall after he’d said hi to him.”

Kunsel laughed, a happy sound that rang off the church walls. “That sounds like him.”

“Right? You don’t have to freak out around us because you like him. He’s a pretty likeable guy, and neither of us are going to get mad at you.”

For the first time, Kunsel seemed to relax completely, a weight obviously being lifted off his shoulders. “Alright.”

They finished their sandwiches in companionable silence, and it was after the shadows had grown long and began to disappear that Kunsel stood up.

“Thank you for having me. If there’s anything I can do, please feel free to call.”

Aerith stood up too. “It was great to finally meet you, Kunsel.”

He smiled. “Same to you too, Aerith.”

He’d made it all the way to the entrance, before stopping, and turning around.

“You know what? I get why Zack loves you.”

Aerith quirked her eyebrow. “How so?”

“You feel like home, and kindness, and cheese sandwiches in a church.”

**Author's Note:**

> I thought I couldn't write fluff, but turns out all things are possible through Aerith.  
> Also I'm trying something where I just write and write and don't look back until I can feel confident writing again, so my apologies if this isn't particularly high quality.


End file.
